Student Ambassadors in France

Clarisha Blaylock and Donald Hughes, both French minors, have been selected for participation in the Centres Internationaux Francophones des Lions Clubs de France. This all-expenses-paid, month-long stay in France takes place in July. Selected students from around the world visit cultural and historical sites in France while serving as ambassadors for their home country. Clarisha and Donald were nominated by the Alliance Française.

Girl Scouts tour le monde francophone

Over 50 Girl Scouts traveled to France, Québec and Africa during a French Immersion Camp on Saturday morning. Susie Hennessy, Corinne Russelle, Guylaine Thévénot (both teachers with the St. Joseph School District) and BSE French student Caitlin McKinney led students on imaginary tours of Francophone regions while helping the Scouts earn badges about foreign countries and cultures.

The girls learned about marine life in the Mediterranean, Carnaval in Québec, and traditional dress in Africa.

ENG 100 Reading has Record Crowd

On Wednesday, April 20, 2011, the ENG 100 program hosted its 5th annual reading and reception for its student publication, Discovering the Student, Discovering the Self. The afternoon was a joyous event as family, friends, faculty, staff and administrators joined to hear ENG 100 students read their original work and celebrate the accomplishments of these students.

Dawn Terrick, Director of Developmental Writing, reports that "students shared their life stories from both inside and outside of the classroom. 85 people were in attendance, and all were moved by the original works of the students. Thank you to the students for their hard work and talent. Thank you to everyone who attended the event.

If you would like to read the students’ essays, go to http://www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj/ENG100/

You can also visit KQ2’s website for a clip of their coverage of the event: http://stjoechannel.com/fulltext-news?nxd_id=197617

Public Reading and Launching of Canvas and Mochila Review

What: Public Reception for Canvas, the MWSU student and alumni creative writing and arts magazine, and The Mochila Review, our national journal of creative writing.

We will present awards to the winners in poetry, visual art, and prose, followed by students reading selections from newly published works. A special feature this year will be a tribute to Roger Kirschbaum, an alumnus who later taught here.


When: Wednesday, April 27, 3:00 - 4:30.

Where: The Enright Room, Spratt Hall 214-216.

The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments (maybe Rainbow's dumplings!) will be provided.

News from Teresa Stubbs

Teresa Stubbs (BA, English-Technical Communication, 1995) reports that she lives and breathes in Louisville, Kentucky employed as Director of Marketing and Communications for Capario, a healthcare IT company out of Santa Ana, California.

She has taken up silversmithing and lost-wax casting in her spare time, making jewelry and small sculptures for family and friends.

Teresa would love to hear from her old friends. Contact her at teresastubbs@gmail.com

Professor Bill Church Wins Teaching Award

Dr. Bill Church, Assistant Professor of English, is one of three recipients of the 2011 Jesse Lee Myers Excellence in Teaching Award.

Bill designed our new and very successful minor in creative writing, works with students on the publications Canvas and Mochila Review, directs the campus's Learning Communities program, and is involved in all levels of courses in the department. He is well-known as a teacher who makes time for his students--both past and present.

He will recieve his award on May 3 at 3 PM in the Kemper Recital Hall in Spratt Hall.

Congratulations on a well-deserved award!

More publications for Mary Stone Dockery

Mary's poem "When Momma Left Me," originally written in Dr. Bill Church's poetry workshop, has been accepted by Coal City Review.

Poet Laureate of Kansas, Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, has chosen two of Mary's poems for publication on the website "150 Kansas Poems." This website was created to celebrate Kansas turning 150 years old this year. The poem "The Woman Doing Cartwheels in Her Living Room" will run on August 7, and the poem "Picking Pumpkins" will run October 12.

Congratulations, Mary!

Outstanding Graduate Awards

Congratulations to EFLJ's 2010-2011 outstanding graduating student awards.

BA, Spanish: Laura Bilecki

BA, French: Katherine Laws

BA, English (Louise Lacy Award): Lauren Burbach

BSE (Mary Lee Doherty Award): Jessica Wilkinson

BS, Convergent Media: Kelsey Saythany

Our awardees will be invited to our last department meeting of the year to be honored. Thanks for your outstanding undergraduate careers at MWSU!

Logan Garrels Wins Writing Award

Alumnus Logan Garrels received The Robert C. Wright Award, given to undergraduate and graduate students at The University of Minnesota, Mankato whose writing samples are judged to be the best by a nationally-recognized outside writer; this year's judge was Debra Monroe. Submissions were open to essays, poetry, and fiction. Logan's submission was a short story titled "Floaters."

Logan reports that the $500 will help with books and other student expenses--he is an MFA student at the University.

Congratulations, Logan!

Professor Frances Flanagan publishes newsletter article

Professor Frances Flanagan, a retired member of our EFLJ faculty and recent celebrant of a 95th birthday, has published her article "The Heart of Community" in The New Wine Press (20.4, March 2011), a newsletter of the Order of the Precious Blood. The article discusses the concept of community, specifically the Companion movement--a lay support group in support of the Precious Blood, an order of the Catholic Church. Congratulations on your continued intellectual pursuits, Professor Flanagan!

ENG 100 Reading Scheduled for April 20

Come join our students on the academic road to success! The annual reception for the ENG 100 student publication, Discovering the Student, Discovering the Self, will be held on Wednesday, April 20, at 3:00 pm in Blum 219. Refreshments will be served, students will read their original work and copies of the publication will be distributed.

Please mark your calendars for this event that will honor and celebrate our students. Spread the word to students, faculty and staff and help make this a successful event!

Speaking in Tongues

Foreign Language faculty and students from Alpha Mu Gamma hosted Foreign Language Day on March 31, welcoming over 100 high school students for a day of competitions, ranging from poetry slam to recreating great moments in history. Lip sync and poetry recitation drew the largest number of performances. Award winners received music, movies, books and scholarships.

Here is the winning student-produced commercial for French.

Noticias from Sevilla

BA Spanish major Eric McCrery (far right) is the inaugural student to study at the Universidad de Sevilla as part of our newest exchange agreement:

Greetings from Seville! Classes are going well; although they are flying by (I'm still nervous abut final exams, which seem like they will be here before I know it!) I attended a Salsa dancing class and plan to go more, as they say that I did very well!

I am also getting accustomed to the night life: hanging out with friends later in the day and staying out late (until two or three a.m.) This last weekend I met up with fellow MWSU student Cristen Cagle, who is studying in Granada; we took a day trip to the nearby city of Cordoba and explored the city and its important landmarks.

I'm having a great time here and I can tell my Spanish is improving, both with listening (the accent of this area can be difficult sometimes) and speaking!

Check this and other foreign language news out on our foreign languages facebook page.

Dr. Jane Frick Recognized with Faculty Award

Dr. Jane Frick is the winner of the Alumni Association's DISTINGUISHED FACULTY AWARD! Established in 1983, the Distinguished Faculty Award is given to a current faculty member by the Missouri Western State University Alumni Association in recognition of one’s lasting influence on students, excellence in teaching, professional/career accomplishments, and professional and ethical standards. Jane will receive her award (and likely a free meal!) at the Alumni Banquet during Homecoming weekend: October 20. This award provides us with the opportunity to recognize her enormous contributions to Western in general and this department in particular.

The Griffon News Rakes in Awards . . . Again

At the Missouri College Media Association convention in Springfield this weekend, the Griffon News took home 18 awards, including five first place awards and a second place Sweepstakes award (based on the number and placing of entries earning awards), the highest sweepstakes award we've ever received. Congratulations to all the students submitting award-winning work, and all the students who work hard week in and week out to make the newspaper great. 　 Griffon News, Second Place, Sweepstakes; Third Place, Page One Design -Ryan Richardson, First Place, Feature Photography -Jesse West, First Place, Entertainment Review -Kallie Hartigan, Second Place, Multimedia -Matt Gleaves, Third Place, Sports Column -Alison Norris, Third Place, Multimedia -Sara Baum, Third Place, Editorial Cartoon -Matthew Fowler, Third Place, Sports Photography Charlene Divino, • First Place, News Section Front • First Place, Advertising (with Ryan Scroggins and Brooke Carter) • Second Place, Advertising (with Brooke Carter) Andy Inman • First Place, Informational Graphic • Third Place, Informational Graphic • Honorable Mention, Informational Graphic Dave Hon • Third Place, Investigative • Honorable Mention, Investigative Reporting • Third Place (with Luke Mason), Newspaper Website 　　　　

Vive la Revolucion!

Subsequent to a bloodless coup d'état, this department is heretofore called the Department of Linguistical and Cultural Superiority (and English and Newspaper Reporters). Former chair Cadden has been deposed and is being held in an undisclosed location. All major programs offered in the LCSenr Department will now require 21 hours of a foreign language. A department meeting will be held at 3:00 today in the newly named Bibliothèque et Salon de Thé (211). Your new Chef du Département will address faculty in at least three languages. Cordialement, Celle qui Règne

Reading a Harbinger of the Cruelest Month

"New Lit Out Loud" took a running head start at Poetry Month with a March 31 reading at Whiskey Mansion.

About twenty-five MWSU students, along with EFLJ faculty Meg Thompson, DawnTerrick, and Bill Church, joined community members who came to listen or share their own creative works.

Several selections read will be available late this month in the 2011 Canvas, MWSU's student literary and arts magazine.